


To a wonderful future

by Silverdancer



Category: VIXX
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, Gen, Minor Cha Hakyeon | N/Jung Taekwoon | Leo, OT6
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:55:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28368738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silverdancer/pseuds/Silverdancer
Summary: As far as life-changing moments go, Hakyeon never thought that in the time it took him to get discharged something like that could happen.He’s out, now, though. And he has a plan.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 21
Collections: 2020 party!





	To a wonderful future

**Author's Note:**

> Posted originally on [vixxmas](https://vixxmas.dreamwidth.org/2586.html?thread=213786#cmt213786) for the prompt " _Hakyeon getting out of the military, dealing with everything that happened_ "

Stepping out of the military complex as a civilian again, Hakyeon feels strangely nostalgic. The world changed while he was inside and everything he wished for this moment to be when he entered crumbled into dust before he could even do anything about it. 

Getting to leave early because the world is in the middle of a crisis, for one. He could have never planned for that, he thought, walking the last bit to his parent’s house. He hadn’t told them he was out today, not wanting them to make the trip for him, put themselves at more risk than they should. 

And then there’s… Well. As far as life-changing moments go, Hakyeon never thought that in the time it took him to get discharged something like that could happen. It’s still not easy to think about, thousands of What If’s coming to mind the moment he even allows himself to consider the thought. It was harder, then, because he wasn’t able to do anything about it. He’s out, now, though. And he has a plan.

***

The plan, if Hakyeon is being honest, started with Jaehwan. He was the one that learned about it first, and who came rushing to find him as soon as it he was allowed to. Probably earned him a talk or two even if he never told Hakyeon a thing.

And then there was the day he cut Jaehwan’s hair. 

“What is going to happen, hyung?” Jaehwan had said, his voice small, as Hakyeon made his way though the back of his head. 

“What do you mean?” Hakyeon had asked, not really seeing where the conversation was going.

“With us,” he clarified. “What is going to happen to VIXX when we’re out?” 

_Without Hongbin_ , he didn’t say. 

“We should all talk about it, don’t you think?” 

“Yeah,” he agreed, but Hakyeon knew then that was not going to be all of it. They kept silent for a bit, the sound of the scissors hanging between them. “Have you heard from Hongbin at all?”

Hakyeon remembers pausing, meeting Jaehwan’s eyes through the mirror, hands gripping his shoulders as reassuringly as he knew how. “He has been reading every message,” he said, and Jaehwan nodded. It was something, they knew. He needed time. “Will you want to go on, if he doesn’t?” 

Jaehwan made sure to look at him before answering, and the memory still makes Hakyeon shiver. “I trust you, hyung. Where you go, I go.” 

And that had been that.

And that’s how it started. Because Hakyeon did say that he would search for them again, if he had to. He just never thought he would have to do it so soon.

He’s already got one, he thinks while he lays in bed his first night at home. Four more to go.

***

The call from his manager two days after coming back, even if technically on break, is surprising but not unexpected. They caught up with each other, Hakyeon telling him about his plans during the two weeks he had at his parents’ house before the official discharge. He didn’t mention Hongbin situation and neither did Hakyeon. Then, he got proposed a meeting in Seoul after his official discharge date to talk about his contract.

Right, it was coming up. With everything going on, he had almost forgotten.

He agrees to the meeting, of course. 

Later, when he hangs up, it’s like reality finally catches up with him and he has to lay down for a bit. And think. Because as much as he knows what outcome he wants of all this, he is going to take his steps very carefully in order to get there. 

Hakyeon is on thin ice, and he wants to get to safety in one piece. He’s not sure he is going to make it, but he has to try. 

He’s threading through the stack of letters he brought home from the station, and thinks of the promise he made Jaehwan that day as he cut his hair. They didn’t mention it again before he left, but they did not need to. Jaehwan knew Hakyeon would remember. 

He thinks of everything he has read ever since it happened, and how powerless he has felt throughout all this. He _knows_ for a fact that he doesn’t know exactly how everything went down, and he is not sure he will ever find out. But he also knows it doesn’t matter. 

Because he knows Hongbin. Probably more than anyone in the company. And for it to end the way it had, Hakyeon is never going to forget.

***

Even though they never really stopped talking through messages, hearing Taekwoon’s voice after he’s finally out is like coming home again.

“How is the office life like?” Hakyeon asks on a lull in the conversation, knowing how much Taekwoon wants to just hang up but not wanting to give this up just yet. “And you have to give me an actual answer, this time.” 

He hears the words come out and winces, hoping that Taekwoon read them like the teasing joke they were trying to be rather than the chiding probing they sound to Hakyeon. God, he is so out of practice. Taekwoon’s soft laugh breaks through the panicking and lifts a weight he hadn’t even noticed to be there. 

“It’s not like it is my fault that ‘ _duller than a photo shoot session_ ’ wasn’t enough of an answer for you,” he teases back before starting to tell him something really funny that happened to his coworker the other day and _yeah_ , Hakyeon has missed this. 

Laying back against the side of the bed, he lets the sound of Taekwoon’s voice wash over him, happy to be back.

***

It’s barely past 9 a.m. when Hakyeon knocks against Wonshik’s door. He waits for a couple of minutes and he’s starting to consider going back home empty handed, when the door opens revealing a very disgruntled Wonshik.

“Morning, sunshine,” Hakyeon says, unable to fight the smile. He expects Wonshik to groan upon seeing him, or even closing the door to his face before going back to bed. He has come prepared for that, too, bag full of snacks and coffee just like Wonshik likes it on his other hand. And he does look annoyed when he opens the door. 

But then he sees Hakyeon and it’s like he has seen a ghost: frozen mid movement and eyes open wider than Hakyeon thought it was possible. Hakyeon stays still, not daring to do anything that could break the very fragile moment they are in.

“Hyung?” Wonshik says in the end, his voice faint in the silence of the hallway. They stay like that a moment too long, Hakyeon staring back at Wonshik with equal surprise now. He surely was not expecting that reaction from him. 

It’s the sound of one of the neighbors’ doors opening and closing what makes them move, rushing inside Wonshik’s place and laughing like little kids that were about to be caught sneaking around. Hakyeon feels strangely reassured when he sees Wonshik’s face lit up with a small smile of his own.

“I brought food?” Hakyeon offers when Wonshik looks up at him, raising the hand with the bag full of goodies. 

Wonshik raises an eyebrow at that, and walks inside, into the kitchen, leaving Hakyeon alone to take his shoes off alone. “Did you think you’d have to bribe me to come in?” 

“Only if it would have worked,” Hakyeon calls back on his way to the living room, and is rewarded with Wonshik’s laugh echoing around the apartment. 

It’s easy to catch up after that, the anecdotes coming easy. He loves hearing about what Wonshik has been up to, with his company and his own career, how much he has grown up, away from Hakyeon’s sight. 

Hakyeon shares his own anecdotes in here and there, too. The ones with Jaehwan coming easier to him as they bring a soft look in Wonshik that he has missed very much. And then, when the food is gone, and the sun is way too high to go back to sleep, Wonshik catches him off guard. 

“What are you really doing here, hyung?” 

Hakyeon doesn’t know how he does it. He should have expected Wonshik, out of everyone, to see right through him. And to that Wonshik, Hakyeon owes the truth. 

“I wanted to see how you were,” he confesses, “after Hongbin.” 

Because he knows it must have been hard on him. That with him being in the army, he must have kept most of it to himself, if he even shared anything with Daetuk hyung. Because it was not his fault but Hakyeon knows that he felt guilty, the same way Hakyeon does. 

And so he sits there, and listens to Wonshik unload his worries on him, one by one. His worry about Hongbin, his worry about having made a mistake, about not being a good enough leader when he had to, a good enough CEO for his own company. He sits there and listens to him unload the world from his shoulders and promises himself that he will not let him bear it alone, however much it takes. 

He’s holding Wonshik through the last of it, his hand tracing patterns against his scalp like his mom used to do whenever he had nightmares, when a question escapes through, surprising them both. 

“Do you regret it?” 

Hakyeon doesn’t need to clarify and Wonshik doesn’t ask him to.

“I probably should,” Wonshik says in the end. “It hasn’t been easy and I made a lot of mistakes. But I don’t. Maybe I’m greedy, but I am glad I could keep everything. Despite the pain, and the worries, I’d choose the same path every time.” He sounds sure when he says it, more himself than he has sounded in the last hour. Hakyeon couldn’t be more proud of him.

***

He finds himself thinking about it later, working on his stamp collection frame.

Can he have both, too?

***

Hakyeon wants to say that he takes a break from apartment hunting to meet with Sanghyuk.

Actually, Sanghyuk manages to make some time for him in the middle of his schedule, between filming and classes and even if Hakyeon had _had_ something planned, he would have dropped at the chance of meeting with Sanghyuk after such a long time. 

They meet in a small coffee shop that Hakyeon had never heard of,hidden in a small street, and full of life and color once you step through the doors. Hakyeon is immediately enraptured. 

“You come here often?” Hakyeon prods while they sit, looking distractedly over the non-caffeine options available. 

“Not as much as I’d like to,” he confesses, waving at the waiter for him to come by, catching up with _him_ as Hakyeon decides on his order.

They make small talk when the waiter goes away with their order, Sanghyuk telling him anecdotes from the filming set. Hakyeon listens, all too happy to spend time just like this. Then their orders come and Sanghyuk’s face changes, turning serious and like the adult people must know him now.

“What about you, hyung? How are you doing?” 

He sounds so earnest asking, Hakyeon doesn’t dare to deny him the truth. 

“I’m relieved to see you seem to be doing well,” he says, which by the way Sanghyuk smiles and lowers his eyes, Hakyeon guesses he did not expect that. 

“Really, hyung,” Sanghyuk insists. Hakyeon wonders when he became so easy to read.

“I’m fine, I promise,” Hakyeon says, raising his hands in defense, “I just missed you, and wanted to catch up with you.” 

Sanghyuk doesn’t seem quite satisfied with that. 

“With me? We talk all the time, hyung. Three times just last week, one of them where you invited me to your future new apartment at the flat rate of helping you move your blankets.” 

“It’s just not the same, Hyukkie,” Hakyeon says, warmly, “I missed this manly face of yours and how you seem to keep growing every time I see you.” It’s a wonder Hakyeon hasn’t given in and leaned over to pinch his cheek just yet. 

“How do you make it to keep sounding just like my mother?” Sanghyuk fires back, trying to distract Hakyeon from the faint blush on his cheeks. “And also, how do you know it’s not just you getting smaller? I’ve heard that happens with age.” 

“Ha-ha,” Hakyeon says, trying to keep a straight face for more than a couple of seconds, breaking out shortly after to laugh, making Sanghyuk laugh too. 

Their laughter dies down and Hakyeon wonders how to breach his other, also important, topic when Sanghyuk beats him to it. 

“I trust you,” Sanghyuk says, looking at his coffee as if it holds all the answers. “I know it’s unfair of me to put this onto you, but I also know that this wouldn’t have happened if you had been here,” and oh, isn’t it sad that Hakyeon doesn’t need to ask him what he means by this? He looks at Sanghyuk in wonder, waiting for him to say whatever he needed to say. “I don’t mean that it’s you fault,” he clarifies quickly, “but we both know you wouldn’t have let that happen.” 

_Over my dead body_ , he thinks, nodding at Sanghyuk’s words. 

“I guess what I am trying to say is that I don’t know what will happen, but whatever you decide, hyung, I will follow.”

***

Hakyeon leaves the coffee shop an hour later with his eyes red, his heart full, and Hongbin’s new address saved on his phone.

***

“When do I get my coffee?” Taekwoon’s voice greets him as soon as Hakyeon puts his phone on his ear.

“Taekwoonie, hello to you too!” Hakyeon replies, completely ignoring Taekwoon’s words and earning a snort from Taekwoon on the way. 

“I’m just saying, you brought coffee to Sanghyuk and _Wonshik_ , and I am still here, buying my own coffee,” Taekwoon insists. Hakyeon leans back against the couch, letting Taekwoon’s voice wash over him.

He very much ignores how much that sounded like a date, too. 

“It wasn’t just coffee,” Hakyeon admits. “I wanted to talk to them, so I bribed them with something and also kept their mouth busy.” He keeps the tone light, trying to keep himself in this conversation and not the one they could actually be having if Hakyeon wasn’t a coward. 

Taekwoon stays in silence for a couple of seconds, mulling over his words. Hakyeon doesn’t push, looking at the dust bits flying above him, trying to catch them to the rhythm of Taekwoon’s breathing. 

“I still demand coffee,” he says, finally, “I am sure you can think of something to bribe me for.” 

Hakyeon smiles and teases him throughout the remainder of the call, and while he tries to tell himself it is not a date, he will never not be excited about meeting Taekwoon. 

Especially not after so long.

***

Despite Taekwoon insisting (”You still owe me that meal for my birthday, I’m not letting coffee slip away this time”), their schedules don’t line up until a couple of weeks after the call. And even then, the only time they are both available is the small time Taekwoon has to go from work to his English course. They could, of course, wait until they had some more time to see each other but not even Hakyeon is strong enough to deny Taekwoon a chance of coffee.

That is how Hakyeon finds himself with a tray from the closest café around, waiting for Taekwoon to be done with his shift, way too early before their meeting time. He is tempted to go inside and see for himself Taekwoon’s work environment, even getting to actually meet his coworkers, but he is not sure Taekwoon will appreciate the intrusion, no matter how much he talks about them to Hakyeon. Before he can convince himself otherwise, Taekwoon is coming out of the building, waving at the people coming out at the same time as him, and making a beeline towards Hakyeon and, more likely, his coffee.

It would be almost ordinary, if it weren’t Taekwoon, Hakyeon thinks, not being able to stop the smile on his face. Although maybe he is a little biased on this.

“Good work today,” Hakyeon says in lieu of greeting when Taekwoon is within earshot, earning himself a small smile that only gets bigger when he hands Taekwoon his coffee cup, still warm but cold enough to actually drink. 

Taekwoon nudges his head to the side, pointing the way to go, barely waiting for Hakyeon to acknowledge him. And so, Hakyeon follows. 

They catch up at first. Taekwoon telling him about his workday, Hakyeon telling him about his apartment hunting adventures. It feels stupidly ordinary in the best of ways, even when Taekwoon comments how his new place has to have space for his current couch. 

“It’s just perfect for napping,” he reasons, like it’s the only thing that matters. With the way Hakyeon decides that he is never getting rid of the couch if he can help it, it almost feels like it is. 

There’s a brief moment where they walk past Taekwoon’s birthday ad, and the only reason why Hakyeon notices is not because of the ad itself but by how much Taekwoon blushes when he sees it. And while Hakyeon’s only reaction is to take a sip from his drink and waggle his eyebrows at Taekwoon when he does notice, the ad reminds him of the other thing they had to talk about.

Hakyeon considers briefly not talking about it, just figuring it out on his own and not ruining the very good moment they have going on right now, when Taekwoon beats him to it. 

“What are you planning to do?” Taekwoon asks, and Hakyeon is lost for a moment about the sudden question, until he looks at him and he knows. 

The contract renewal. Hongbin. Hakyeon feels a weight lift from his shoulders at not needing to start the conversation himself. Taekwoon has always understood him in ways no one else did, and even though it’s hard, he knows Taekwoon will understand. 

“I don’t know,” he confesses, and he sighs pitifully. He should have this figured out by now and here he is, floundering. “Renewing the contract feels like betraying Hongbin. Like it didn’t matter what happened to him.” Taekwoon nods at that, probably expecting it. “But by not renewing it,” Hakyeon continues, “I would feel like I’m betraying all of you, and not respecting every effort you have made. In any case, no one wins.” 

Taekwoon drinks the last of his coffee in silence as Hakyeon finishes talking. Hakyeon, on the other hand, is not able to look at him, ashamed of his confession. Of his failure as a leader. As if knowing the way his thoughts are headed, makes it a point to stop walking, and looking at him in the eye before he starts speaking again. 

“If any of us had known what would happen, none of us would have signed again.” Taekwoon’s voice is soft as always when he speaks, but he sounds sure and true and it feels like a weight has been lifted from Hakyeon’s shoulders. “And I think I speak for all when I say that none of us would like you to feel trapped just because you feel like you owe it to us. I know I don’t.” 

Hakyeon is left speechless, unable to move even if it is to look away from Taekwoon’s eyes. If this were another reality, this is when he would probably give in to what’s building up inside him, close the distance between them and kiss him. In this one, though, he only nods, teary eyed, and follows Taekwoon when he starts walking again to his destination. 

He knows Taekwoon meant every word he said. Now it is Hakyeon’s turn to work on believing them.

***

It’s like a deja vu. Hakyeon finds himself again before a closed door, a bag full of food in hand and not being sure he’s going to be welcomed.

At least this time he has some alcohol with him. As he waits for Hongbin to open his door, he feels like it’s going to be needed. 

He can almost hear Sanghyuk’s words when he sent him the address over, the warning, making him promise that he would only use it for actual emergencies and that he would never say where is got it from, under any circumstance. Sanghyuk has always been scary when the occasion called for it, and while he should probably have felt intimidated, he could only feel warmth seeing him looking out for Hongbin like that. 

If he was like that to _Hakyeon_ , he has no doubt that with anyone else he must have been absolutely terrifying. 

And there, as Hongbin opens the door and looks at him like he has seen a ghost, Hakyeon has the absolute certainty that even if things went south once, things will be okay.

***

Hakyeon looks around the place as Hongbin gets them a couple of glasses of water (”Save that for later,” Hongbin had said as he walked him in), taking the chance to take in all the details he can. It’s clean and simple, barely any decoration in the space that Hakyeon can see.

Hakyeon was afraid that Hongbin would not want to see him, that he resented him after what happened, or that he had just decided to cut ties with the past. He is realizing now that for that to happen, Hongbin would have to be replaced by someone else.

Waiting for Hongbin to come back, Hakyeon has to bite back a smile, glad that some things never change.

***

“I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing you could have done.” 

“You don’t know that.” 

“Neither do you, hyung. It’s done, it’s okay now.” 

(…)

“If I made it happen, would you come back?” 

“Hyung…” 

“Not with them, with _us_. Would you?” 

(…)

“Hyung.” 

“Yeah?” 

“I’m sorry too.” 

(…)

“We had great times, didn’t we?”

“The best.” 

(…)

“You know no one is mad at you, right?”

“You don’t know that.” 

“Oh, but I do. And for whatever is worth, neither am I.” 

(…)

“I would love to be back.” 

“That’s all I need to know.”

***

It’s late when Hakyeon gets home, late enough that he doesn’t need to disguise himself when walking around the streets, as there is no one to disguise it for. He goes through the motions without a thought, sighing when his body finally hits the mattress, cold against the touch.

He thinks of how the day has gone, seeing Hongbin after so long, and how he’s ready to sleep for several years just to recover from the emotional roller-coaster today has been. He thinks of how at ease he feels now, compared to the last few days, like the last switch has been flipped on. 

He has a goal in mind, clear and simple, and while the steps to get there are blurry and difficult, he is at peace now.

Now, he knows where to begin.

(+1)

It’s way past midnight when he sits on his old couch on his very new apartment. There are a few boxes still waiting to be unpacked, but they can very well wait for tomorrow, he thinks. Most of it is set and feels like a home already, even though he just arrived.

Looking at the figure sleeping on his couch beside him, he thinks that that has more to do with him and Sanghyuk than anything they have unpacked today. He thinks about the messages on his phone, on their group chat, and the pictures they have sent during the day, and tries to imagine the kind of replies he will have waiting for him. 

Hakyeon takes a moment to breathe, and reflects on how different his life is compared to what he imagined it to be only two years ago, but how the important things are still right where they need them. How he is scared of change, but less so with these five people right beside him.

And, looking at Taekwoon sleeping peacefully on his couch beside him, Hakyeon thinks how he might feel bold enough to finally have the kind of future he has never allowed himself to dream for. 

How, in this new reality, everything seems possible.

**Author's Note:**

> This is beginning to be a thing and I cannot even be mad about it. I hope you liked it, if you read it ♥
> 
> Wishing you had a merry Christmas and your 2021 is, if not good, at least better.
> 
> If you need me, you can find me on [twitter](http://twitter.com/yonireads).


End file.
